Showing posts with label Drain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drain. Show all posts

Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Length of Drain Snakes

Clear clogs in a toilet, sink or tub with the appropriate drain snake.

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A drain snake has an auger end that can push through debris that causes blockage in a line. Because a clog might not be near its assumed source, the location of the clog in the pipe will determine what length drain snake to use. Drain snakes are available in several lengths to tackle clogs in sinks, tubs and toilets, and more distant clogs that can travel all the way to the main line.

Related Searches: Standard Drain Snake

Tackling clogs in the pipes that measure up to 2 inches in diameter, a standard drain snake comes in 10-, 25-, 50- and 100-foot lengths. Buying the right one for the home is a matter of determining where the clogs are most likely to occur, and which one works best against the common drain problems. For most homeowners, a 25-foot drain snake works well enough to reach a clog anywhere in the house. The drainage system forms a connection of the pipes from every water source and channels them to the main line, and at several places there are drain pipe access points. So if a clog is unreachable through the sink or tub, accessing the drain pipe below and using the drain snake that way is another way to unclog the drain.

Toilet Drain Snake

A clogged toilet that a plunger cannot remedy requires a closet auger, or toilet drain snake. Available in 3-foot and 6-foot lengths, the design of the toilet drain snake has a drop-head construction -- a bent, solid pipe sleeve that guides the inner drain snake cable down and around the bends of the toilet's drain. A 3-foot model reaches through the toilet and just to the upper part of the drain pipe, while the 6-foot option reaches the drain snake farther into the toilet's sewage line.

Power Drain Snake

Clogs that form farther along in the lines, even into the main drain line, require the use of a power drain snake, or power auger. The length of these drain snakes range from 50 feet to 200 feet, and can tackle a blockage in a large pipes with a 10-inch diameter. This means that if a massive clog travels down the line, even beyond the limits of a house or within an apartment complex, the power drain snake might be able to reach it from the starting location.

Manual or Power

While the larger power drain snake is powered and the smaller toilet drain snake, or closet auger is manual, the standard drain snakes are available as either manual or powered, or both. For a homeowner, buying a 25-foot, dual-powered drain snake gives you the flexibility to use it manually when the clog is easy to reach or to hook up the power when unclogging more tenacious clogs. One such type uses the power of a drill to convert the drain snake into a powered one, making this option a more versatile one.

ReferencesThe Home Depot: Augers and PlungersThis Old House: Clear Any Clogged DrainHometime: Plumbing: Unclogging DrainsResourcesThe Unclog Blog: All About Drain SnakesPhoto Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty ImagesRead Next:

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